Hits and misses: Man Utd lack guts and fight, but can Leeds dare to dream?

Forget signings, Man Utd lack guts and fight

Hull nailed their set-up with a back five too physical for Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, and wing-backs in Lewie Coyle and Ryan Giles who served target man Oli McBurnie well.

But this was about fight and spirit over anything on Sergej Jakirovic’s tactics board. Winning almost two thirds of both their duels and headers before the break was just reward for the intensity, energy and belief they brought to the game – and United did not match it.

It was inevitable that the Tigers would be fired up after riding the wave of promotion, but it felt as though Michael Carrick’s side hadn’t realised. They failed to do the basics right and were punished.

A video of McBurnie dribbling around a static Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans will rightly do the rounds on social media and only epitomised their performance on Humberside.

People may point to a lack of quality in the Man Utd side but without the hunger and desire to do those basics, it would have made little difference.
Ron Walker

Encouraging signs at Everton

Everton’s performance in victory over Crystal Palace was symptomatic of a team maturing under the influence of wily David Moyes. He fielded the second-youngest XI of his second stint at the club, inviting questions over the suitability of his inexperienced midfield.

But young Harrison Armstrong and new signing Hayden Hackney dovetailed perfectly, unafraid of their elevated Premier League stage. And others shone, too.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delivered a masterful display, scoring a wonderful opener to set the tone. Under-the-radar Iliman Ndiaye was equally impactful. He has more Premier League goal involvements for Everton than any other player since his debut in 2024-25 (15G, 4A).

Everton made big strides following the return of Moyes last term and now have the potential to double down on that progress. No doubt Moyes needs a bit of help from the decision-makers at the club to climb higher in the table. He wants a right-back before the transfer window closes. And talk of a reunion with Jack Grealish offers more hope of investment and improvement.

With a few more signings, there are plenty of reasons for optimism in the blue corner of Merseyside.
Laura Hunter

Can Leeds dare to dream?

Daniel Farke is keen to quash any prospect that anything but survival is possible this season, but Leeds have started the new campaign in the same way they ended the last one.

Only reigning champions Arsenal have picked up more points since the start of April than the Whites – who have lost just once in their last ten games. Leeds are still very hard to beat.

This win over Forest was about defensive solidity. The back five that transformed the last campaign is still going strong. The back three of Jaka Bijol, Joe Rodon and Tarik Muharemovic make 18 clearances between them, while James Justin and Anton Stach won a combined 21 duels on their own.

That solidity earned them a first win – and first clean sheet of the season. Last season, they had to wait until New Year’s Day for their first shutout on the road. Advances are already being made on last season – how far above last season’s 14th spot could this team go?
Sam Blitz

Tzolis and Odegaard rejuvenate Arsenal attack

Vinicius Jr this, Morgan Rogers that… Arsenal have shown that their transfer window was better than many made out.

Christos Tzolis looks like a gem, a real livewire down the left wing. After a stale opening five minutes on the pitch, he set it alight with two shots and two chances created in the space of four minutes.

It was no surprise to see him strongly involved in the two goals that put this game to bed, winning the ball high up for the first, then crossing for Bukayo Saka for the second.

But Martin Odegaard’s start to the season cannot be overlooked either. He backed up the stunning Community Shield display with a first goal of the season here, equalling his league tally last season that saw him miss 30 matches in all competitions.

“When he plays better, the team’s a lot better. So we’re happy to have him in this level,” said Saka about Odegaard after the game.

In fact, this was just the second time since December 2024 that Saka, Odegaard and Kai Havertz started together. All three scored against Coventry.

That trio are like new signings. And with three open-play goals, Arsenal look like a new team.
Sam Blitz

O’Neil lays down his marker at Ipswich

Gary O’Neil needed a fast start as Ipswich boss – to give everyone the chance to move on from Kieran McKenna and turn the next page.

McKenna had taken the club from League One to the Premier League, created an identity and, ultimately, made Ipswich believe they belonged at this level.

That is a difficult act to follow.

O’Neil, though, has now got his first significant result to put his name on.

There was an authority in flashes about Ipswich’s performance that suggested they aren’t simply going to be making up the numbers this season. They were aggressive without the ball, willing to commit bodies forward and, crucially, showed the character to respond when Sunderland threatened to wrestle control away from them.

There will inevitably be comparisons with McKenna for a while. That’s natural. But the quickest way to silence those is to win football matches.

Ipswich have done exactly that.
Lewis Jones

Don’t sleep on Igor Jesus just yet

Igor Jesus could have won the game for Nottingham Forest against Leeds. He had two golden chance to score from two Ola Aina balls in – one was saved by James Trafford, the other header bounced over.

But despite the misses, there was a lot to like about the Brazilian forward. He was at the heart of everything good for Forest – especially in terms of shrugging players off. He won 11 duels – seven more than his opposite man Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and four more than the other two Forest starting forwards.

Oliver Glasner took Jean-Philippe Mateta to a different level at Crystal Palace and looking at the early signs of Jesus, there is no reason why the Brazilian cannot become a big player for both club and country.

Strikers will be judged on goals, but Jesus is showing a lot of potential and desire to make his own chances and get into the right areas. Don’t sleep on him just yet.
Sam Blitz